


Taking Care of You

by wolfish_willow



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Hurt Steve Harrington, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, POV Jonathan Byers, POV Steve Harrington, Post-Season/Series 02, Protective Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27289414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfish_willow/pseuds/wolfish_willow
Summary: Jonathan and Nancy taking care of Steve when everything is over at the end of Season 2.--"How is he?"Jonathan sighed. He continued gently dabbing at the remaining blood caked on Steve's slack face. Nancy reached him in a few steps, hand warm on Jonathan's shoulder. He looked up when she curled her fingers tighter, but her gaze stayed steadily on Steve. The scrapes and bruises were red and sore looking and wiping the blood away didn't help him look better the way Jonathan had hoped."I think he's doing better."
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler
Comments: 18
Kudos: 144





	Taking Care of You

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt: stoncy + jack o' lanterns
> 
> I took some creative liberties on how to include a jack o' lantern in this. And also turned it into a hurt/comfort fic after I saw another prompt from Comfortween: Caring for someone who has lost consciousness. 
> 
> I hope you like it!

The house was quiet. So quiet it felt _loud_ after everything they had been through tonight. Jonathan thought he would feel relieved when it was all over. That he would be able to breathe easier when Will was himself again and the gate was closed. 

He supposed he _was_ relieved. His mom was with Will in her room. Hopper was in there with a still passed out El, too. The rest of the kids were unsurprisingly adamant about staying until they knew for sure their friends were okay and were bunking together in Will's room. Jonathan understood the urge. Last year he'd barely been able to leave his brother's side long enough to even get food.

This year he left Will to his mom, at least for the moment. He had someone else who needed attention.

"How is he?" 

Jonathan sighed. He continued gently dabbing at the remaining blood caked on Steve's slack face. Nancy reached him in a few steps, hand warm on Jonathan's shoulder. He looked up when she curled her fingers tighter, but her gaze stayed steadily on Steve. The scrapes and bruises were red and sore looking and wiping the blood away didn't help him look better the way Jonathan had hoped.

"I think he's doing better."

Nancy's eyes darted over Steve's face, but the only part of him that moved was his chest as he breathed. 

"How can you tell?" she asked, glancing at Jonathan briefly. "He...He looks worse."

Covering Nancy's hand with his own, Jonathan shook his head. "The bruises look pretty bad, yeah. But he reacted when I started cleaning the blood off earlier."

Nancy turned her hand over to grip his firmly. Jonathan swore it felt like his scar got warmer whenever they touched like this. 

"He did?" Her voice shook and she leaned further into Jonathan. 

Jonathan turned, pressing his cheek into Nancy's stomach and nodded. "He did."

He was interrupted by Steve groaning, tossing his head to the side. Jonathan straightened up so fast he could feel the way his hair stood up with the static from rubbing against Nancy's shirt. "Steve?" 

"Steve?" Nancy repeated. Her hand slid from his shoulder as she rounded his chair. She half sat, half leaned on the arm of the couch, running her fingers over Steve's hair, careful not to touch skin. Everywhere looked too painful to touch. The way his face scrunched up couldn't be helping either.

Eventually, he settled back into sleep. The lines on his forehead mostly smoothed out, but his lips were curled at the edges. Jonathan wished they could give him something; hoped he woke up soon so that they got the chance.

"I'm going to kill him."

"What?" Jonathan asked, eyes wide as he looked at Nancy. Her body shook. Anger and helplessness and guilt; Jonathan remembered when they'd been told that Will's body had been found—before they, _he_ , knew his brother was still alive—how he'd spent hours shaking and crying while he tried to drown everything out with his music. She swiped the tears from her face roughly, still mindful of the hand she had in Steve's hair. 

"Billy."

Right. Jonathan had been so focused on cleaning up, he hadn't let himself think about how Steve got like this in the first place. Skin feeling stretched too thin, Jonathan curled his fingers into fists. He thought about how last year they'd been bruised up from fighting Steve. They'd worked things out, though. Gotten past it. Even when he felt like he could have kept hitting Steve forever, when he was so angry it scared him, he hadn't left Steve looking like he did now. He'd been able to get up and run away. Then to come back and apologize and fight a _monster_. 

Though, the way the kids tell it, he'd done the same thing tonight. He hoped the reason Steve was still out was more exhaustion than anything else.

"You can't kill Billy," he said when he felt like it would come out steady.

"I _can_ ," Nancy said. She sniffed, wiping at her cheek again. "I have a gun."

"Jesus, Nance," Jonathan laughed. It wasn't funny. Nothing about tonight was funny. Still, he couldn't help it. "You can't shoot him. I mean—" he held up a hand when she geared up like she was going to argue "—you _won't_ shoot him."

She inhaled deep, holding herself straight and tense. As she breathed out, the fight seemed to flow out along with it. "I won't," she agreed, shaking her head. Her face softened and she reached out to take Jonathan's hand. It took effort to uncurl his fist, but it was worth it to hold onto her. " _He_ doesn't know that, though."

"He doesn't." Maybe Jonathan would be able to convince her that antagonizing Billy, threatening him, wasn't the smart thing to do. Maybe he wouldn't. He was a problem for another day. Hopefully after Steve was better and they'd all had the chance to rest up after the couple of days—had it only been that long?—they'd had.

Steve moved again. His face seemed to twitch when turning his head caused Nancy's fingers to brush over skin. Jonathan watched her remove her hand from Steve's hair, saw the way Steve seemed to try to follow even in sleep. Nancy bit her lip before gently rubbing her fingertips over his forehead. Steve sighed, the last of those lines fading as she touched him. 

"I think you were right," Nancy said, not taking her eyes off of Steve. "I think he's doing better."

Jonathan squeezed her hand. "Yeah," he said, curling his other around Steve's wrist. "He'll be up and about in no time."

* * *

Steve's face...hurt. Actually, he was pretty sure everything did.

Something was tickling Steve's forehead. Soft and featherlight, they swept over his sensitive skin. It was almost enough to distract him from the way the rest of his face throbbed with the beat of his heart. Not quite enough to distract him from how breathing irritated the spot on his chest—stomach? Both?—where Hargrove had kicked him. 

His eyelashes seemed stuck together when he tried to open his eyes. It took a few painful starts and stops to manage it and he immediately wished he hadn't. Even the dim light of the room was too much. _Ow_ , he meant to say, but couldn't convince his mouth to move. 

Blinking his eyes open a bit at a time, Steve squinted at a...was that a jack o'lantern? What was going—oh, it was one of those kid's trick-or-treat buckets with the pumpkin face. A hand disappeared inside it for a moment and he heard the paper crinkle as whoever the hand belonged to pulled a mini candy bar from it. The hand reached out, but Steve's eyes hurt too much to try and see who they were handing it to.

"Thanks," someone said. It took a few seconds for Steve to put together that it was Jonathan who was being handed a candy. That made sense. He'd definitely been at the Byers' house when he finally couldn't keep his eyes open anymore and fell asleep. Or passed out. He wasn't sure which was true and figured it didn't really matter. Here he was, still alive, so even though everything hurt, it couldn't be that bad.

"Can I...have some of that?" he asked, the words catching halfway in his dry throat.

"Steve!"

Oh, it was Nancy who was touching his head. He smiled through his wince at her almost-yell.

"You're awake," Jonathan said, slumping forward. Steve felt something tighten around his wrist. That had to be Jonathan's hand, then. Swallowing, Steve held himself still in the hope that neither of them would move if he didn't. 

"Yeah. Kind of regretting that." Jonathan squeezed his wrist again before letting go. Steve's hand moved on its own, trying to follow him, pull him back, but Jonathan was already standing and backing up.

"I'll be right back," Jonathan said, looking at them both before his eyes settled on Steve. "I'm gonna get you something for the pain, okay?"

Steve let his arm drop back onto the couch beside him. "Sounds good," he said when his attempt at nodding made it feel like his brain was going to dribble out of his ears. Painkillers were the only acceptable reason for Jonathan to leave.

Nancy moved, too, but not away. She slid the chair she was sitting in closer, making it easier to see more than just the bucket of candy in her lap. Her fingers stayed in his hair, sending pleasant jolts down across his head and down his neck and spine.

"Here," she said, holding up a little candy bar. He couldn't tell what kind it was and didn't particularly care. His cheeks didn't appreciate the way he smiled again, wider this time, but he kept it up anyway. 

"Real food would probably be better," she told him and his heart beat a little faster when she fed it to him instead of letting him take it. If he didn't hurt so much, he might think he was dreaming. "But you should have _something_ in your stomach before you take anything."

"Thank you," he said, reaching up to capture her hand in his. He felt the way she was just barely shaking. "Hey, I'm okay."

"I know." Her voice was strained but steady. "I'm really glad you're awake."

"Me, too," he said and despite his sore chest and aching face, it was the truth. If it meant Nancy could relax, even a little, in relief, he would rather be awake and hurting than asleep.

Jonathan came back in holding a glass of water. He held it out for Nancy to take. Steve barely had the chance to miss her touch before Jonathan was there, carefully helping him sit up. Steve tried to keep quiet but couldn't help a hiss when his stomach twinged at the new position. 

"Sorry—"

"It's okay." Steve took the pills and water with a grateful smile. Jonathan was still frowning at him, worry lines creasing his forehead. Now that he was sitting up, Steve kicked their feet together. Huh. Someone had taken his shoes off at some point. "Thanks."

Jonathan kicked him back, some of the concern easing off. "You're welcome."

After taking the pills, and hoping they kicked in soon, Steve pushed up from the couch a bit. Nancy held his arm and Jonathan's hands hovered in front of him without touching. 

"Relax," Steve said, settling back into the cushions when he reached the middle of the couch. "Just making room for you guys."

He expected Nancy to roll her eyes, scold him for moving too soon maybe. Instead she sat down beside him, keeping the candy in her lap. She was warm against his side and Steve wished he was hurting a little less so he could wrap an arm around her.

Jonathan didn't join them right away. He held up one finger when Steve reached for him, and disappeared out of the room again. It wasn't a terrible wait, with Nancy feeding him another piece of candy despite Steve's insistence that he could feed himself.

"I know," she said, curling up with her cheek against his shoulder. She looked up at him with wide eyes and his neck protested the angle of his head towards her, but he did anyway because it wasn't like he was going to stop hurting if he didn't move. "Let me take care of you."

"Okay."

Jonathan came back with a blanket that he draped over the both of them. He slipped in under it, becoming another warm line beside Steve. The blanket smelled like him and Steve felt his muscles slowly relax. 

"This is nice," he told them, scooting down enough to lean his head on Jonathan's shoulder. "We should do this more."

"We should," Jonathan said, pressing a kiss to the top of Steve's head.

Nancy nodded against his arm in agreement. She reached over under the blanket until she was holding Jonathan's hand on Steve's lap. Steve joined in, curling his fingers over theirs. 

"Thanks for taking care of me," he whispered. 

"Always," came from either side of him and Steve smiled, grateful that two of the best people he knew cared as much about him as he did them. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed it, consider leaving a comment to let me know! Kudos are also appreciated :D


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